Combined tray, tank cover, and shelf



Oct-.- 28, 1941. c, w, MUMMERY 2,260,915

COMBINED TRAY, TANK COVER, AND SHELF Filed March 23, 1940 INVENTOR. 64 m5 M Mum/v65) ATTORNEY.

Patented Oct. 28, .1941

COMBINED TRAY, TANK COVER, AND SHELF Clyde W. Mnmmery, Detroit, Mich, assignor to The Midland Steel Products Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application March 23, 1940, Serial No. 325,581

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a combination tray, cover and shelf especially useful in bathrooms but equally usable as a wall shelf in other environments.

An important object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which may be used as a tray to be supported upon toilet flush tank covers or as the cover itself for such flush tanks in case such covers become broken or damaged; or the tray may be supported upon a perpendicular wall as a cantilever shelf for a depository for various articles.

Another object of the invention is to provide the tray with adjustable legs whereby it may be leveled upon a toilet tank cover irrespective of the shape thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide the tray with means whereby it may be readily secured to a vertical wall in cantilever fashion.

A still further object of the invention is to provide the tray with a flexible angularly disposed flange which may be sprung or flexed into place between the wall and the flush tank to securely hold the tray in position irrespective of the spacing between the tank and wall.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of the application and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the several views,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the combined tray, cover and shelf looking at its rear edge,

Fig. 2 is a top elevation of the same,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the article shown in-position upon a toilet tank flush cover,

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the vacuum cups used in conjunction with the leveling of the tray upon the tank cover irrespective of the curvature thereof;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the tray showing its use as a cantilever wall shelf.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the brackets employed for supporting the shelf upon the wall.

The combined tray, shelf and cover is made from a single piece of very light gauge metal comprising a body portion or bottom ID of substantially rectangular configuration with its forward or front corners ll rounded as illustrated in Fig. 2. Three side margins of the single blank or body portion constituting the front and two sides of the tray are bent upwardly at right angles to -of the flange IS.

the bottom Ill into an upstanding marginal flange I2 to prevent toilet articles placed upon the tray or shelf from tilting or becoming accidentally thrust from the same. This marginal boundary guard flange I2 is aboutone inch in height and is provided with a co-extensive binding l3 which is U-shape in cross section and preferably formed of a chromium finished metal to'straddle and be firmly frictionally engaged with or clipped upon the upper free edge of the flange l2. With the tray or shelf enamelled or coated with porcelain or an elastic sound deadening material such as Duoprene, the chrome binding strip l3 adds an attractive appearance which may be augmented by making the binding strip of colored plastic or pyroxolin. A Duoprene coating for the top surface of the bottom will also prevent articles handled carelessly on the tray from becoming chipped or broken.

The rear edge or margin of the tray bottom is inclined at its ends as at H and is bent downwardly of the bottom into a depending flange l5, disposed normal to the bottom or at a slight acute angle thereto as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. By disposing this rear flange ii at an angle other than a right angle to the bottom l0, it will have a degree of flexibility to be sprung and caused to closely engage between the wall and the tank cover in the event this space is relatively wide, and in any event will tend to spring or stress the bottom of the tray downwardly into close firm engagement with the top of the tank cover. This will also cause a snug, tight engagement between the tray and brackets to be presently described, when the tray is employed as a cantilever wall shelf. This depending flange i5 is provided with three equally spaced perforations l6, one at the center and one at each end for fastening the device to a wall when used as a shelf. However, it will be noted in Fig. 4 that the perforations It at the ends of the flange will be arranged above the ends of a sloping flush tank cover ll, when used as a tray therefor, so that when the flange I5 is formed normal to the bottom and the space between the wall and cover is great, the flange may be secured with screws to the wall. Instead of perforations, the openings l6 may be in the form of slots extending through the lower edge However, this additional fastening of the flange IE to the. wall is unnecessary in most instances as the space between the wall II and the tank cover I! may be varied, since the latter usually has some degree of play upon the top of the tank and can be moved rearwardly toward the wall to snugly engage the flange I5 in this space. Also, when the flange I is arranged at a slight acute angle to the bottom of the tray, it will be flexed either in inserting it in the space between the wall and the tank cover or by slight movement of the cover back toward the wall to draw the bottom of the tray down snugly upon the top surface of the cover ll.

The usual toilet flush tank I9 is secured to the wall l8 and the covers I! for these tanks, especially the olderones, are somewhat dome-shaped and slope down toward the ends thereof as shown in Fig. 4 as well as toward the front thereof as shown in Fig. 3. Such curvatures would space a goodly portion of the tray bottom from the tank cover and when the tray is constructed from extremely light gauge metal, the tray would unduly flex under weight of toilet articles placed thereon and would not lie perfectly horizontal. If the tray is constructed from heavier gauge metal and the depending flange l5 does not have a tight flt in the space between the wall and cover, heavy articles positioned upon the traymay cause it to rock upon the sloping cover. In order to overcome these difliculties, a pair of rubber feet or legs 20 are provided with suction cups 2| attaching means whereby they may be removably and adjustably adhered to the bottom of the tray to support it in a level horizontal plane irrespective of the contour of the top of the cover l1. Thus,

- these adjustable feet may be secured to the bottom of the tray at any desired points to engage with the top of the cover for leveling the tray and rigidly supporting it irrespective of the gauge of metal from which it is constructed or the contour of the cover. In addition, these adjustable feet 20 may be shifted rearwardly toward the back edge of the tray to tilt its bottom ill and cause a right angularly disposed flange l5 to be snugly engaged between.the wall and cover in the event the space between these two is excessive in order to preclude any possible shifting of the tray upon the cover.

Frequently the porcelain tank covers I! become broken, in which event the tray of this application can serve as a substitute therefor to replace the same by engaging the bottom of the tray with the top edge of the tank IS with the flange l5 disposed between the tank and wall to completely cover the open top of the tank. These trays are preferably made in a size of 8 x 20 inches to flt the majority of flush tanks so that they may be interchangeably used as covers therefor and at the same time serve their usual purpose as a tray for toilet articles.

In addition to these uses of the tray, it may be converted into a cantilever wall shelf in various environments, and especially to hold toilet articles under the usual mirror in the bathroom. Screws 22 are passed through the apertures ID of the depending flange l5 and into the wall l8 so that the flange I5 is drawn tightly against the wall to support the tray as a shelf in cantilever fashion. This shelf may be more effectively port the same.

supported in a horizontal plane for heavier articles by the use of three L-shaped brackets 25 having one leg thereof perforated or slotted as at 28 so that when they are fastened by the screws 22 against the depending flangeli, the horizontal leg 21 will engage the bottom of the shelf to sup- When these shelves have their flanges l5 disposed at a slight acute angle to the bottom, it will be apparent-that the L-shaped brackets 25 which are perfectly right angular, will force a right angular disposition of the flange IS with respect to the bottom l0 and cause it to very firmly engage with the brackets and provide a sturdier cantilever shelf. Thus, this very simple device has a very universal use.

It will of course be understood that various changes in the size, relation and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A tray for wall mounted flush tanks comprising a sheet metal horizontal bottom, the rear margin thereof being bent downwardly into a flange depending below said bottom and arranged at a slight acute angle to the bottom and toward the forward margin of the tray and adapted to be inserted between a wall and a tank for stressing the horizontal tray bottom down upon the tank top.

2. A tray for wall mounted flush tank sloping covers comprising a body portion having a bottom with an integral depending flange at its back edge to be disposed between the wall and the tank cover with the bottom of the tray resting horizontally upon the top of the tank, and a pair of feet adjustably adhered to the tray bottom and adapted to be adjusted to any points upon said bottom to engage the sloping tank top to level the tray to a true horizontal position thereon.

3. A tray for wall mounted flush tanks comprising a body portion having a bottom with an integral resilient depending flange at its rear edge to be disposed in the space between the wall and the tank cover, said flange being arranged at a slight acute angle to the bottom, and a pair of suction cups removably adhering to the tray bottom and engaging the top of the tank and adapted to be adjusted to any points upon said bottom to change the relative angularity between the tray bottom and the cover.

4. A tray for wall mounted flush tanks comprising a body portion having a bottom with an integral resilient depending flange at its rear edge to be disposed in the space between the wall and tank cover, and a pair of suction cups removably adhering to the tray bottom and engaging the top of the tank and adapted to be adlusted to any point upon said bottom to change the relative angularity between the tray bottom and the cover.

CLYDE W. MUMMERY. 

